Mythbusters: Is Stress Causing Grays?

Why is it that when grays pop up, it’s almost always front and center of our ‘dos? Don’t worry, pulling out an obvious strand will not prompt two more to grow in. However, stress is a topic that’s been leaving everyone scratching their heads, including scientists! We combed through some research to find out the truth once and for all.

Hair color 101: Hair color gets its hue from melanin, the same pigment that determines your skin and eye color. As decades go by, you start to lose melanin, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, which is essentially what turns hair gray, silver, or white.

But can stress speed up the process? Although stress has been known to trigger hair loss, there’s actually very little research that it can actually turn your hair gray. The change of color is a gradual process. Jennifer Lin, a dermatologist who conducts molecular biology research at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, explained to Scientific American that stress hormones can ultimately disrupt melanin signals that can cause pigment to not get delivered to your hair.

You can blame your genetics: Angela Lamb, a dermatologist at The Mount Sinai Hospital told SELF, “Genetics play the largest role in when you will start going gray." Scientists have actually discovered the first gene responsible for gray hair, which is prompting researchers to believe one day we’ll hold the key to a fix in salt and pepper strands.

Until then, we’ll continue to use use root touch up to rescue us from mature hair. We recently tried out Madison Reed’s Root Touch and it’s awesome! Just a few strokes of this powder will cover those stubborn grays.

Do you swear by any root touch ups? Tell us about them in the comments below!

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